Bangladesh govt. not to allow any foreign NGO to work in the country without first registering

Dhaka, 23 April (Asiantribune.com): From now on Bangladesh government will not allow any foreign NGO to work in Bangladesh without registering first.

The country’s social welfare minister Enamul Haq Mostafa Shaheed on Wednesday told reporters at the Secretariat, "We will not allow any foreign-registered NGOs to operate in the country. They'll only be allowed to operate after registering here."

The government in this regard has taken steps to form a single body proposed to be styled ‘Social Security Council, which will register, monitor and regulate NGOs in future, he said.

The proposed council will be finalized before the next budget, said Shaheed.

The minister said the proposal had been sent to the prime minister and would go on to the cabinet for approval before passage by parliament.

The minister also said the government was in a dilemma over the activities of "some Middle East-based NGOs" in Bangladesh, "Many of them established themselves here in the aftermath of Cyclone Sidr. The government doesn't want to aggravate them but is trying to bring them under proper regulation," he told reporters.

He said some 175,000 NGOs were registered across the country under the social welfare ministry, women and children affairs ministry, Registrar of Joint Stock Companies, Social Services Directorate and the NGO Bureau.

"If any anomalies are found against any NGOs, we will take stringent action against them and all others will only be able to operate after fresh registration" he said.

The minister said his ministry has already sent letters to the women and children affairs ministry, Registrar of Joint Stock Companies, social services directorate and NGO Bureau asking them for information on the funding and activities of NGOs for review.